My phone rang as I was driving to the apartment to meet Maddock and the boys. I was a little surprised that my father was calling me this fast, but I couldn't resist answering his call since I had a hunch what it was about. Going no contact could be delayed so I could have a moment of satisfaction. The second I accepted his call, his frantic voice filled my car.
"My computer's not working, Avvy! It won't boot up. I have two important clients I'm meeting with this afternoon. I need those client notes."
After what had just gone down and what he'd revealed to me, knowing I was taking the boys and myself out of his life, being told I would no longer be working with him...and all this man was concerned about was his business.
"Sounds like a you problem since I no longer work for you," I said coolly.
"Avvy, come on. Don't do this."
I sighed as if I was giving in. "Did you look for the hard copies of the files? They should be in the file cabinets."
"Shit! I didn't even think of that." Of course you didn't! I always handled the filing.
I heard banging as he tried to force the doors of the file cabinets open. "I can't get the drawers open!"
"They're probably locked," I said. Duuh. "Check your desk for the keys."
I heard his desk drawers being yanked open. "What the fuck? There's nothing in any of my drawers." His voice was rising steadily as his panic increased. "I had papers in there I needed!"
Calm down, daddy dear! You don't want to have a stress-induced heart attack like I'm allegedly susceptible to!
"Maybe check my desk for the file cabinet keys?" I suggested mildly.
A pause, then more drawers being ripped open. "Your desk is empty, too!"
"Oh, my. That could be a problem."
"How am I supposed to run my business?"
"That's a great question. I'm sure your new girlfriend and Jared will have all sorts of suggestions to help you get your business back up and running. If they know how to take a business down, they should know how to build one back up."
"Avalon, what have you done?"
"Nothing you didn't deserve."
"I need my passwords and my files!"
"So wish I could help you out, but as a former employee, I feel like that wouldn't be the wisest use of my time. I need to focus on finding a new job."
"Avalon! Please, you have to help me."
"Then you'll be happy to know that I am helping you! I'm giving you the same kind of help you gave to Maddock when you tried to ruin his business. I'm giving you the same kind of help you gave to Maddock and to me when you tried to destroy our marriage. What more do you expect from me?"
"Avalon!" he snapped at me, his patience running thin, his fear increasing as he realized that he'd given the person he'd betrayed so horribly total control of and access to his life's blood...and I'd just poisoned it.
"No worries, Dad. I'm sure you'll straighten it all out in another seven months or so."
"I'll be ruined if it takes seven months!" Ah, hearing the sheer panic and desperation in his voice made my heart sing despite everything. What an absolute lift to my spirits.
"And now we come full circle in this conversation. Once again, this sounds like a you problem. And those are my last words to you."
I hung up on him as he was begging for my help, and he immediately called back. I declined the call.
Sorry, wrong number.
When I arrived at my condo, Maddock was there with the boys and he had three men carrying boxes down to a small box truck. Since the place was completely furnished, there were only clothes and toys to clear out. Leave it to Maddock to move and move fast.
"I'm taking you to my place," Maddock informed me. "Given who your father's keeping company with, I don't want you and the boys alone. The boys are familiar with my place, and we can use it as a base until we decide what to do. The only thing I don't like is that your father may remember where my place is."
"Mmmm, doubt he could even find his own ass with both hands and a flashlight right now," I murmured so the boys couldn't hear. "He's a tad upset."
Since the boys were around, Maddock could only give me the side eye instead of interrogating me, but we focused on quickly boxing up the last few toys and Maddock's men carried them to the truck. Maddock gave them the address to his place and he took the boys in his SUV. After making a final walk through of the condo to make sure we didn't miss anything, I followed in my own SUV.
We ate together as a family, did our Zephyr homework after the boys were in bed and then I started on my to-do list. Handing Maddock a sheet of paper, I said, "Now, I need you to cancel dad's phone. Report it stolen and have it shut off. Everything you'll need is right there in front of you. His birthdate, social, password, number -- everything."
Maddock looked at me. "Surprised you aren't canceling his debit card and credit card."
"Tonight's the debit card after the phone. The credit card's going to take a few days so there's no problem with the Amazon orders. They should all be shipping in the next three days."
"What'd you do, Avalon?"
"I ordered him two new pool tables, fifteen Tag Heuer watches, seventeen pieces of horrible diamond jewelry, fourteen pairs of shoes in the wrong size, two hot tubs, twenty expensive dog beds...things like that."
"What's the damage?"
"Around forty thousand."
Maddock grinned. "Leave something for me to do."
"Oh, you can have Salem and Jared. Dad's going to suffer at my hands."
"Mine, too," Maddock said grimly. "That bastard fucked us both over so he's going to get fucked over times two."
I watched as Maddock reported Dad's cell phone as stolen and canceled his debit card because it was lost. Then it was my turn, and I used Dad's laptop that I'd taken from his office to go into his MLS listings while Maddock looked over my shoulder to see what I was doing. Dad had more than a hundred listings, so I made seven figure properties go for five figures, swapped out nice pictures for horrible ones that looked like junk yards, raised the prices on lower-end homes to seven figures, just flat out deleted some listings that would have been very lucrative sales with excellent commissions for my father, and on certain exclusive properties of people who had listed many times with Dad before, I changed the descriptions.
If you're a troll looking for a home, this hideous monstrosity of a house may be just what you're looking for. Everything needs to be upgraded, but the owners think they can get top dollar for this shithole. You'll need to spend more than this house is worth to bring it up to code and even then it won't be worth the price you paid. Make a lowball offer since it's been on the market for months and you could be the proud (or stupid) owner of this money pit of a hellhole. As a realtor, I really regret accepting this listing, and I wish someone would just take it off my hands.
"That's an...interesting description," Maddock said, looking over my shoulder and trying not to laugh.
I did laugh as I saved that one, then moved on to another property that was the most expensive one my father had.
Have you always wanted a house with a view...if so, then this house is NOT for you (unless you like looking at your neighbor's dead lawn and an extensive collection of old tires). In fact, if you're looking for a home with any amenities, you should just skip this listing. However, if you like leaky roofs, windows that need to be replaced, uneven floors, a kitchen that is three renovations behind the times and wall-to-wall shag carpet that's often been mistaken as a litter box by the twenty cats that have lived in this home for years, this may be the property for you! Wildly underpriced, you're encouraged to make an offer before this house languishes on the market for years.
"You sure have a way with words," Maddock teased. "I'm ready to buy."
"Let's hope you're the only one."
"Won't he just change them back?"
"Well, he could," I said. "But he'd have to know how to log in."
"Not sure how it's possible since you've always been the sexiest woman alive to me, but seeing this cutthroat side of you has made you even sexier."
"Down boy," I said. "I'm still sleeping in your third bedroom."
When we met with Zephyr that week, we told her about my father and all the ways he had played us against one another and how he'd worked with Salem and Jared to ruin Maddock's company and to wreck our marriage.
"And I see you're sitting next to each other on the couch today," Zephyr observed. "When you two first came in, the distance was so great between you."
Maddock and I looked at each other and I spoke. "We've learned some things with my dad's confessions to me and when we confronted him. It's made me see things from a different perspective."
"Perspective is so important," she said gently. "It can make all the difference in the world."
"It can," Maddock agreed with her. "It definitely opens your eyes."
She rang her ridiculous little bell and said la! Someday I was going to ask her what it actually meant, but today wasn't that day because she was staring at Maddock intently.
"And today is the day you can finally apologize to Avalon because I feel you've come to understand exactly what it is you need to apologize for." She peered at my husband. "Are you ready for an honest discussion with your wife?"
"Absolutely," he said. "I've been ready for a while."
"No," she said, "you weren't ready, which is why I never let you apologize. But now I sense changing energies, and we must strike when the time is right."
Reaching forward, she put her hand over Maddock's where it rested on his knee.
"Now, Maddock," she demanded. "Strike."